A sneak peek into Sox' playoff roster
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The White Sox won't officially announce their 25-man playoff roster until today, but it was clear Wednesday on who is in and who is out.
• In: Joining the regulars are outfielders Jerry Owens and Brian Anderson, third baseman Josh Fields and relief pitchers D.J. Carrasco, Clayton Richard and Adam Russell.
• Out: A handful of struggling relief pitchers, featuring Boone Logan, Mike MacDougal, Ehren Wasserman and Horacio Ramirez.
"It's always tough because those guys helped you to get here," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "But I have one thing in my mind, it's about winning; not about feelings. We've got to try to pick the best guys out there that we think are going to help us."
Danks moved up: The Sox' rotation is set the first three games of the American League division series against the Rays.
Javier Vazquez starts today at Tropicana Field, followed by Mark Buehrle on Friday.
When the series picks up again at U.S. Cellular Field on Sunday, John Danks gets the nod over Gavin Floyd.
Danks was brilliant against the Twins on Tuesday night, pitching 8 shutout innings while allowing just 2 hits while going on three days' rest.
Floyd, who pitched 6 innings against the Tigers on Monday and allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits while working on short rest, is expected to pitch Game 4 of the ALDS, if necessary.
"Danks threw an unbelievable game (Tuesday)," Guillen said. "It was tough to pull Gavin from the third spot, but I want two lefties (Buehrle and Danks) for a reason. They (Rays) have a heavy lefty lineup, and hopefully those two lefties back to back, we can hold them. Hopefully, we win the first one with Javy and then we'll see what happens."
Quentin update: Out since Sept. 1 with a fractured right wrist, Carlos Quentin hit off a tee during Wednesday's workout at Tropicana Field. The left fielder also played catch with Nick Swisher.
There is no chance Quentin will be ready to play in the ALDS, but he might have a slight chance if the Sox beat Tampa Bay and advance.
"It's hard to say," Quentin said of a return date. "The game of baseball is very difficult. The goal is to be able to swing with minimal pain, where I know I can't reinjure myself."
Win or else: The Sox had to win three straight games to get to the playoffs, but manager Ozzie Guillen isn't satisfied with just making it to the stage.
"If we don't make it to the next round, I'll be disappointed," Guillen said. "I'm not the type of guy, 'Oh, we made it here, everybody rah-rah, good job, great job.'
"If you're not playing in the World Series, you're just spending another three days in the ballpark, that's it. You have to go to the World Series to get the thing done for the year."